The Date That Wasn't
by iloveromance
Summary: After being stood up for a date by Frasier twice, Roz finds herself at Cafe Nervosa; where the night leads to something completely magical. A Bulldog/Roz story, Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

Roz was grateful to Daphne for making her look presentable for her date with Frasier. But it wasn't a date; nor would she ever dream of calling it a date. They were just two friends, going to a high school reunion. And strangely she was looking forward to it. Since she'd given birth to Alice, she hadn't had many opportunities to go out, so even something as lame as a high school reunion was welcome.

Perhaps it was vain (much like her would-be date), but she felt quite attractive; especially since just moments ago she had been in the tub with a pint of ice cream and now she was getting ready to go to a high school reunion; a reunion that wasn't a date. The moment she walked into the living room, Frasier smiled.

"Oh Roz, you look beautiful!" he exclaimed. "But we're not going."

Roz's jaw dropped in disbelief. "What?"

Frasier paced the room, touching his head with his hand in that familiar way that had suddenly become painfully annoying. And she was so ticked off at him that she wanted to scream, although strangling the pompous psychiatrist sounded like a much better option.

"Frasier, what in the hell is wrong with you?" She shouted.

He turned to her sheepishly. "Well, Roz it has something to do with my personal growth. You see, I realized something tonight. I don't care about those people anymore."

She feigned a smile, determined not to lose her temper. But it wasn't going to be easy. In fact it was going to be downright possible.

"Frasier, I hired a babysitter, _twice_. I did my makeup _twice_ ; I performed a miracle by taping myself into this dress _twice_ , only to be stood up by _you_ , _twice_!"

He gave her another sheepish grin. "Well, technically you only did your hair once."

Now she was livid and she swung her small black purse around (the one that matched her nearly skin-tight black satin dress), hitting the radio psychiatrist (and complete jackass) squarely in the chest. It was with some satisfaction that she smiled at his reaction.

"Oof!"

"Shut up!" She screamed, starling him with the outburst. "You know what, Frasier? One day you're going to find yourself in need of another favor from me and do you know what you can do with it?"

Frasier winced and he looked almost… scared. And if she hadn't been so damned annoyed and angry, she might have laughed. "I think I have a pretty good idea."

"Well, you can do it _twice_!"

Without waiting for a reply, she stormed out of the condo. She was too embarrassed to apologize to Niles, Daphne and Martin for her behavior but she felt badly that they had to endure the ridiculous scenario that had occurred in Frasier's living room. But she wasn't about to return. So she rushed into the hallway, slamming the door behind her.

"Damn it, doesn't this thing work?" She muttered, pressing the call button on the elevator repeatedly. But when the doors remained close, she headed for the stairwell. With one thrust of the door, she made her way down the flights of stairs, passing each floor.

 _Eighteen… seventeen… sixteen... fifteen_ … and so on in record time until she reached the lobby.

By the time she pushed the door open and reached for the lobby door, she was beyond exhausted but she wasn't about to stop. She was determined to get as far away from Frasier Crane as humanly possible; until Monday afternoon anyway. The next time show saw him she was going to give him an even bigger piece of her mind. But at that moment she was determined to vanish all thoughts of him from her mind

She hurried through the lobby to her car and climbed inside, barreling out of the Elliott Bay Towers parking lot at record speed. She had no idea where she was going (Florida would have been a good place) but she didn't care and instead kept driving until her car came to a stop-right in front of Café Nervosa.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the last place on earth she wanted to be, but at least it was familiar. It was after six, and the café was sure to be somewhat empty, so she could find a table (preferably in a deep, dark corner) and drown her anger in a latté; one with about a thousand calories. Why should she; a woman who had been stood up twice in the same night, care about her figure anyway?

Hot, angry tears rose to the surface. Damn it. She wasn't about to cry over something so incredibly stupid. She wasn't a moron, contrary to what Frasier might think. And she didn't care what he thought anyway.

She stormed up to the counter, prepared to order the most fattening drink on the menu. But at the last minute she chickened out and ordered her usual nonfat latte with skim milk.

"Here you are, Roz." Taylor said, giving Roz her signature smile. Roz was very fond of Taylor. The barista really knew her stuff and she was good; really good at pretty much anything when it came to lattes, or even advice. But at that moment, Roz wanted to smack the smile right off of Taylor's face. So it was to Taylor's credit that she said no more. It certainly wasn't Taylor's fault, but there was nothing worth smiling about; not after the hell that Roz had been through. She mumbled a polite thank you and went to find a table.

As she glanced around the care, she couldn't help but notice two men, probably in their early to mid-thirties, sitting at a table by the window. Her plans to find a secluded table now ditched, Roz was happy to see a free table in the middle of the café; the table where she often sat with Frasier, Martin, Niles or Daphne. And instead of feeling awkward, it felt comfortable in a way.

The two men adjacent to her were drop-dead gorgeous, both in business suits. One had dark hair and the other light brown. Both of them were smiling at her and when she looked closer she blushed. They were flirting with her; there was no doubt about that. She could feel her heart race as she sat down on the wooden chair and smiled back, trying to flirt with them as well. No sense in letting a good black dress and a babysitter go to waste. If they could flirt with her, she could flirt with them.

She smiled and waved, subconsciously picking up the container of sugar from her table to pour some into her drink. But as soon as she lifted it over her cup, the metal top of the sugar container came off, sending a snowfall of sugar into her drink. Some moron had loosened it. What was this, high school? And to her horror, she saw the men laughing at her. Damn it, she should have known. They may have been cute, but they were nothing but jackass pranksters. She'd been humiliated yet again.

Being stood up twice in the same night was bad, but this… Now she couldn't even enjoy her latte. She could barely make eye contact with them, nor did she want to, and so she tried to concentrate on her drink; pretend that absolutely nothing had happened. But it was damned impossible. She was clinching her fist under the table, fully aware of the hot tears forming behind her eyes when she heard;

"Whoa! I must still be asleep because there is no way I'm seeing what I'm seeing! I must be dreaming!"

The annoying voice made her cringe. Just when she thought that the night couldn't get any worse, it had.

"Bulldog, spare me the pickup line. What in the hell are you doing here?"

He feigned innocence. "Doing what any good citizen would do, stopping in for a-."

"BULL!" She yelled, causing every head in the café to turn.

The obnoxious host of the Gonzo Sports Show on KACL was so completely unfazed by her actions and he began to laugh. "That's a good one, Roz!"

"Yeah, well it's not funny!" She shot back.

"Are you sure, Roz? Because I thought-."

"Just get out, Bulldog!" She yelled. "Get out and leave me alone, all right? I've already been humiliated more than enough for this evening and-." She tried to control her emotions about the tears behind her eyes were dangerously close to spilling onto her cheeks. And then she made the biggest mistake imaginable. She made eye contact with the moronic no longer good-looking guys at the adjacent table; both of whom were still pointing, whispering and laughing.

And that was the last straw.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey Roz, wait!"

But she couldn't wait. She grabbed her small black purse (the one she'd hit Frasier with) and ran out of the café. She was barely out of the door when she began to sob.

She didn't move; just stood there underneath the green awning, crying into her hands as the rain began to pour.

Damn it, why was she so stupid? When Frasier had canceled the first time, she should have just stayed at home. It was a sign of epic proportions but she just hadn't seen it. Still crying, she slumped into the chair, not caring that the driving rain was soaking her dress clear through to the skin.

Suddenly she heard voices from inside the café, but she was too weak to see what was going on. A few thuds and groans and then a body, stumbling through the front door. In the dark the figure turned to the entrance and laughed. "Yeah? Well, just wait till next time! You'll see!"

Roz couldn't believe it. "Bulldog? What in the hell are you doing out here?"

"Just a minute ago you were asking me what I was doing in there." He corrected. Now she was really ticked off and she turned the chair away from her.

"I don't care. Do whatever the hell you want, okay? Just leave me alone."

His expression softened as he walked toward her, his face now illuminated but the soft lighting of the outdoor café lights. "Roz, I'm sorry, okay? I was just-look, those guys… they won't be bothering you again. I promise."

"Yeah, right. You can't promise me that, Bulldog. No one can. And it doesn't matter anyway because I'm never coming in there again."

"Roz, I-."

She froze at the sight of him. Something was different; very different. He was now sporting a black eye. The sight made her rise from her chair, forgetting how cold she was. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"I told you… they won't be bothering you anymore."

"What? I-I don't understand. I-."

The two men came out of the Café and she purposely turned her head. No way would she look at them. But suddenly they were standing at her table. She turned to them in anger. "What in the hell do you want? Haven't you done enough damage?"

The dark haired man spoke first, extending his hand in greeting. "Ma'am, my name is Paul Amorist."

"Roz Doyle." She snapped.

"Pleased to meet you, Roz. Look, Larry and I… Um, that's Larry next to me."

"Yeah, I figured. Hey Larry."

"I'm Larry Selwood, Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Doyle." Larry said, extending his hand.

"It's just _Roz_ , okay? And what do you want?"

"Um, we just wanted to-."

She saw Bulldog shove them from behind and they stumbled foreword. "Um, we wanted to-."

"They're sorry they loosened the cap on the sugar and ruined your drink." Bulldog finished. "And they want to make it up to you. They'll never do something as immature as that again, RIGHT?"

"Um, yeah man, whatever."

"Now apologize to the lady again!" Bulldog ordered.

"Um, we're sorry." Larry stammered.

" _Very_ sorry." Paul echoed.

"A-and?"

"And here's some money to pay for another drink." Larry said, handing Roz some money. She looked at the bill in her hand and gasped. "Fifty dollars? But this is-."

"Not quite enough, but it'll do." Bulldog said. And I'll send you the bill from the doctor as well, all right?"

"Um… okay. Well, we'd better go." Larry stammered.

"Yeah, that's a good idea so GET OUT OF HERE!" Bulldog yelled.

Both men scrambled away from the front of Café Nervosa, and headed for a silver Mercedes, which pulled away from the curb within seconds.

But Roz could only look at Bulldog in amazement.


	4. Chapter 4

"B-Bulldog…"

"Boy I sure showed them, didn't I?"

Her hand reached for his cheek but he flinched at the touch. "I bet that hurts, doesn't it?"

"Like hell." He finished. "But like I said, they won't be bothering you anymore."

"Did they do that to you?"

"Yes." He said matter of factly.

"So you did this… let them beat the crap out of you… for me?"

Suddenly he seemed rather shy. "Well yeah, but they had it coming to them, they-."

She couldn't' help it. She began to cry… and cry and cry… She felt his arms around her, tentative at first and then encircling her. She cried until she could cry no more, her face pressed against his blue polo shirt. How had she not realized how muscular he was before? How… Oh God, he was rubbing her back the way Frasier often did to calm her. But this was different. It wasn't expected. It was…. Nice.

When she drew back, she could barely look at him. "Oh God, I've made a total and complete jackass out of myself, haven't I?"

"Those guys are the jackasses, Roz. Not you. You… Well you look-."

"Like hell, right? I'm a drowned rat. Look at me!"

"He looked her up and down. "Actually I was gonna say you look pretty dammed good."

She was pretty sure her mascara was ruined as well as the rest of her makeup. And she didn't even want to know what her hair looked like. But suddenly she didn't care.

"I-really?"

"Yeah. Roz, I-."

"Your eye." She said, interrupting him.

"What about it?"

"That has to hurt. Let's go inside and see if they have any ice. "

He escorted her back inside but she saw Taylor glaring at him. "I thought I told you to get out, Bulldog!" She yelled. "Haven't you caused enough trouble?"

"Taylor, leave him alone, all right? He's with me! Do you have any ice?"

She looked up, alarmed. "Oh… I'm sorry Roz. You said _ice_?"

"Yeah, for his eye. He wasn't trying to cause trouble. He was teaching those guys a lesson." She turned to Bulldog and smiled. "And I can't thank him enough."

Taylor stared at them only for a moment before disappearing into the back room and reappearing seconds later with a bag full of ice. "Here you are, Roz. I'm sorry Bulldog. I didn't know-."

"It's fine." Bulldog said. He paused, looking the young barista up and down. "Hey, do you have an older sister?"

Roz punched him in the side. "Bulldog!"

"Ow! I was just kidding!" he countered.

"Here, sit down and hold this on your eye, okay?" Roz ordered. "What do you want to drink?"

"Drink? Um… I don't care."

Roz walked up to Taylor; the fifty dollar bill in hand. "Two latte's please."

"Nonfat again?"

"No, just the regular. Whole milk."

Taylor's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Yeah." Roz smiled.

Minutes later Roz took the drinks and led them to a more secluded table. They sat down and began sipping their drinks. "Thanks Roz. This is great, but you didn't have to do this."

"Well, I wanted to. Not many guys will come to my rescue so it's only fair that I rescue them right back.

"You _rescue them right back_? Wow, that's very... polite."

Roz laughed. "That's a line from a movie; _Pretty Woman_. Have you ever seen it?"

"Boy, have I? That Julia Roberts; she's…"

Roz glared at him.

"Nothing like you." He finished. "You're much better than she is."

Roz ignored her flushed cheeks and the way the compliment made her feel. But her heart did not.


	5. Chapter 5

They sipped their drinks and talked about nothing in particular when suddenly the lights began to dim.

"It's almost closing time." Taylor said. "We'll be closed in five minutes."

"All right, we're finished." Roz said. She took their paper cups and tossed them into the trash. "Thanks Taylor."

And then she followed Bulldog outside. They stood face to face in the darkness.

"Are you okay, now Roz?" Bulldog asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just gonna go on home. The babysitter's probably wondering where I am."

"If you don't mind my asking, why are dressed so…."

Roz rolled her eyes. "Like a streetwalker? Well, Frasier wanted me to go to his reunion and both times when I went over there, he stood med up! Can believe that?"

"What?" Bulldog yelled. "That stinks! That's total BS!"

Roz couldn't believe it; she actually laughed at his obnoxious trademark outburst. "I agree. But that's how I ended up here; where I was humiliated yet again. Until you showed up."

"You don't look like a street walker at all. You look amazing, Roz. Really. I mean-."

She put her arms around him, drawing him close to her body. Her lips pressed against his, giving him a kiss that made her heart race. He moved even closer, his slim body flush with hers and the kiss deepened. After several seconds they drew back from one another. Had the kisses lasted any longer, she was certain that they'd have ended up at her apartment or his, where more than kissing would follow.

But then she remembered her obligations.

"Well, I… The babysitter's waiting for me." Roz said, as she shivered in the cold air.

Bulldog removed his jacket and put it around her shoulders. It was the most amazing thing she'd ever seen him do. Had it been Niles or Frasier, Roz might not have been so stunned. But this was Bulldog of all people.

"Thanks." Roz replied. "But don't you need this?"

"Nah, you can give it back to me on our next date."

Her eyes narrowed. "What _date_? Wait a minute; you think this was a _date_? Because this was most certainly not a _date_! I don't care what you-."

He was kissing her again, drawing her close, making her mind reel with every emotion imaginable. Her hands were moving up and down the back of his neck, and she wanted to touch every inch of him. They kissed until they were breathless and then kissed some more. When he finally drew back, she was staring at him in amazement. Even Bulldog seemed a little unsteady.

"I-I should be getting home. Alice is-"

"Oh sure. No problem." He stammered. "Um, do you need a lift?"

"Um, no… I've… I've got my car."

"All right, well…"

"Call me tomorrow, okay?"

His eyes widened in disbelief at her words. And she could hardly believe she'd said them. "C-call you? Like-."

She couldn't help but grin at his boyish confusion. "On the _phone_ , Bulldog. Yes."

"But what-."

"I'll give you my number tomorrow at work."

"Oh-okay, well…"

She kissed him once more. "Goodnight."

"Um…Goodnight, Roz."

But she turned and walked to her car, eager to get home to see her daughter. The night might have started out as a disaster, but it turned out to be the best date that she'd never had.

 _ **~THE END~**_


End file.
